Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - November/December 2017 - 55

Brown Trout

these waters will be less than 20 feet wide, some tumble
downslope and others lie flat. The scenery of these creeks
is varied.
It is said that only those with the most careful skills
can catch these fish. However, I have never bought into
the argument that only the most enlightened anglers can
catch these fish. Nevertheless, you do have to be on your
fishing game to catch southeast wild trout.
I've learned that for methodology, I can bring a number
of tactics into the game. Oddities such as upstream
nymphing and even upstream streamer striping will work,
but the most fun is a careful prodding with a dry fly,
upstream of course, except when using those camouflaged
downstream stances. Even as Thanksgiving is eclipsed
by Christmas, if you select a warm day and wait until the
sun has provided its most beneficial effect on the water,
you can tap into wild trout with dry fly attractors or more
specific patterns such as midges, caddis and Blue Quills.
There is nothing like wading upstream, tossing an
X-wing caddis on a sparkling afternoon and seeing a
wild Brown Trout dart across the stream to take the fly's
trailing shuck. Then again, when trout pod up, as they
often do during the holiday season, to witness trout
gorging on cream midges on the surface when you come
along and pluck a few from the pack comes close. Cream
midges are as indispensable at this time of year in the
southeast as the titled Indispensable pattern is in spring.
Over and over again, you cast the minuscule midge to
the pod until finally a wild trout singles out your fly and
a swift but fragile fight is on. It takes a lot of good luck
to keep a size 22 hook glued to the thin lips of a 12-inch
wild trout.
Nymph selection is not as important here. Place a yarn
indicator 18 inches above the fly, longer in deeper water,
and all of a sudden the indicator will dart to the side or
bound upstream. All the slack below your fly reel needs to
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Pockets around log jams hold wild trout.

be gathered in while you maintain a tight pull from the rod
tip to the lunging fish.
Tie a size 12 streamer on a fly jig hook, 1/80-ounce,
something flashy with metallic chenille or flimsy strands
of synthetic. Cast it upstream, so it bounces along the
bottom rocks and down into the deepest holes. Keep it
moving with the shortest, quickest strips, and strike hard
when you feel it jolt.
That's what holiday season wild trout is all about.
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater * November/December 2017

55



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